Healthy Homes Assessment: the assessor walkthrough

From 1 July 2025, every rental property in New Zealand must comply with the Healthy Homes Standards 2019. Landlords and property managers can self-assess or engage a qualified Healthy Homes Assessor — and the Tenancy Tribunal can fine up to $7,200 per breach, so it pays to know exactly what a good assessment covers.

The 5 standards — assessor checklist

An assessment works through the five mandatory standards one at a time:

• Heating — a fixed heater in the main living room, sized per the official Heating Tool. The most common spec is a 4–5 kW heat pump for a 30–40m² living room.
• Insulation — ceiling R2.9 (zones 1–2) or R3.3 (zone 3+) per NZS 4218, and underfloor R1.3. Measured and recorded.
• Ventilation — an openable window of at least 5% of floor area in each habitable room; bathroom extract of at least 25 L/s; kitchen rangehood of at least 50 L/s, vented to outside.
• Moisture and drainage — working gutters and downpipes, a ground damp-proof membrane (DPM) in the subfloor if accessible, and no standing water.
• Draught stopping — block obvious gaps in walls, ceilings, windows, floors and doors, and close off unused chimneys.

The compliance statement and record

The paperwork matters as much as the physical work:

• The compliance statement must be in the tenancy agreement at signing.
• The compliance assessment record must be provided within 28 days of the tenancy start.
• It must be updated when there are significant changes, such as a new heater or replaced insulation.
• The tenant can request the assessment at any time.

The heating tool — what to spec

Tenancy Services runs an online Heating Tool. You enter the main living room dimensions, insulation status and glazing, and it outputs the required kW. As an example, a 30m² living room with R2.0 walls and IG windows comes out at around 3.5 kW required.

Not every heater qualifies as “fixed”:

• Open fires and electric portable heaters are NOT compliant — they don’t count as fixed.
• A wood burner is fine if installed correctly and flued; a pellet burner is fine too.
• A heat pump is the most common choice — lowest running cost and easy to install.

What an assessor checks on site

Per Tenancy Services, a full assessment covers:

• Heater type, size and position.
• Ceiling insulation depth and condition (probe access via the manhole).
• Underfloor insulation in place and intact.
• Operable window areas calculated room by room.
• Extract fan working and ducted to outside.
• Subfloor inspection — DPM, ventilation, no standing water.
• External envelope — obvious gaps, broken seals, missing flashings.
• A detailed photo report and compliance certificate.

Typical cost is $250–500 per property.

Common compliance gaps

These are the recurring failures that trip landlords up:

• An old plug-in electric heater present, but no fixed heater installed.
• Bathroom extract recirculating into the ceiling space instead of ducted to outside.
• R1.8 ceiling insulation (the 2008 standard) — needs upgrading to R2.9/R3.3.
• Subfloor cross-flow ventilation blocked by added plumbing or wiring.
• An open chimney never closed off.
• A wet patch in the subfloor from a broken downpipe.

Tenancy Tribunal penalties

Non-compliance is enforced through the Tribunal:

• Failure to comply with any standard — up to $7,200 per breach.
• Failure to include the compliance statement — up to $500.
• Each separate non-compliance is treated as a separate breach.